I interviewed Pierce Brosnan in conjunction with his third outing as James Bond, in Michael Apted's The World Is Not Enough, in 1999. Brosnan was alternately charming, erudite, thoughtful and intense during our two hour chat.

MEXICO CITY -- While James Bond is cavorting in downtown Mexico City among giant skeleton props, leaping over rooftops and jumping into helicopters in an fictional exercise the government hopes will bolster Brand Mexico, Mexicans all over the country are clamoring for a new deal and real justice.

Owing to a web of legal rights so complex it could have been knotted by one of Bond's diabolical nemeses, the official 007 series hasn't been able to use the character of iconic cat-stroking supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld since 1971's Diamonds are Forever.

At the end of the day, James Bond gains no fame, glory or money. He remains the anonymous Agent 007, unfettered and always prepared to save the world once again. This sounds a lot like the life of a designer.

Necessity is the mother of invention and smaller budgets almost always beget more interesting films. For MGM and its fortunes going forward, Skyfall is the comeback it needed, the ultimate symbol of its recovery. Resurrection

Mendes, who previously worked with Craig when the star had a key supporting role in 2002's Road to Perdition, brings a methodical, refined eye to the proceedings, helped along by the luxurious cinematography by Roger Deakins.

As Skyfall, the newest adventure of 007, shows, even the world's most dangerous secret agent needs to keep up with the times. And so director Sam Mendes and a trio of writers bring Daniel Craig's James Bond squarely into a 21st century in which desk jockeys and bottom-liners call the shots.